Skilled Trades
Fallers
Use axes or chainsaws to fell trees using knowledge of tree characteristics and cutting techniques to control direction of fall and minimize tree damage.
Median salary (BLS)
$52,100
10th–90th percentile (BLS)
$35k – $82k
Job outlook
No separate BLS projection for this specific role
AI exposure
Plan a path to Fallers
Education
Typical entry: No degree required
Plan my path to this →Typical progression
Junior Fallers
Entry / Junior
$35,180
~2 yrs to advance
Fallers
Established
$52,100
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Fallers
Senior
$67,230
Key skills
A typical day
- •Stop saw engines, pull cutting bars from cuts, and run to safety as tree falls.
- •Appraise trees for certain characteristics, such as twist, rot, and heavy limb growth, and gauge amount and direction of lean, to determine how to control the direction of a tree's fall with the least damage.
- •Saw back-cuts, leaving sufficient sound wood to control direction of fall.
- •Clear brush from work areas and escape routes, and cut saplings and other trees from direction of falls, using axes, chainsaws, or bulldozers.
- •Measure felled trees and cut them into specified log lengths, using chain saws and axes.
Fields of study
Any field
Top colleges for Skilled Trades
Explore all- Purdue University50% admit · $78,000 grad pay
- Ohio State University53% admit · $68,000 grad pay
- Pennsylvania State University55% admit · $70,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.